Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-21
ANCIENT TOYS.
PUPPETS THAT WEIR. ALMOST HUxAH
AED THAT WOULD SURPRISE THE
PRESENT AGE.
An Iron Fly that Moved Through the
Air, an Artificial Horse that Ran
swiftly, and the Like.
lRomance Of Invention.l

pized by both the Greeks and Romans,
and automata, which are the inventions
which are principally dealt with, also
90 back TO . remote period. Vulcan's
tripod on wheels has the authority of
Homer Dadalus made moving statues ;
Arcbytas of Tarentum, 400 b. c.,
invented wooden pigeon that
could - fly in the AIR. In the
fifteenth century Regioma1tamrs
made an iron fly that moved through
tie atmosphere, and afterward an au-
tomato eagle. which on the arrival of
the Emperor Maximillan at Nuremberg,
few forth to meet him. Albertus Mag
nus is credited with conssructings head
that moved and talked, and which so
frightened Thomas Aquinas that he
smashed it into pieces, Albsrtus eX-
claiming when he saw his achievement
destroyed, $50 perishes the work OF
thirty years :" Roger Bacon made a
speaking head of brass, which excited
awe among all who heard it. Speaking
eutomata have been frequently at
tempted Of late years, but the great
difficulty lies in Stimulating the human
voice. The most successful Of these
efforts was perhaps that of Professor
Fabor, of Vienna. exhibited in London
forty years ago under the name of
Euphonia. Tsber worked twenty-five
years at the autOmaton. The figure
enunciaied words and also sang. There
vas an arrangement Of bellows, pipes,
pedals, and keys, which tie inventor
played to prompt the discourse,
Willars de Hanecort, in the thir-
tecnth century, constructed an angel
that "wodld always point with his
finger to the sum-" The Marquis of
Worcester made an artificial horse that
would carry a rider as swiftly as il he
were = genuine barb. Philip Campo
invented a wonderful group OF automata
for Louis XlV.-a carriage and four
Lorsos that started off with the crack
of a whip. the horses prancing, trot-
ting, and galloping in turn it
ran along until it got in front
of the King, when it stopped then
toy footman descended, and, opening
tie carriage door, handed ont a lady
with born grace" The lady made
courtesy, presented a petition to his
Majesty, and, re-enteriDg he's carriage,
wss driven away. General de Gennes,
a Frenchmsn, who defended the colo
ny Of st. Christopher against the
English about 1858, amused himself by
making IN autonston peacock, which
walked about in all it. pride of extend
Cd feathers, and picking up corn from
the ground swallowed it.
The king Of automatic constructors
was Jacques Naucanson, born at Greno-
be in 1900. While quite Il boy he
made several seli-mOvirg figures. The
Ic1t Of his mind was determined by 4
rather peculiar circumstance. Being
lett 10 himself in the house of friend
TO which he went with his mother, he
perceived through the crack Of parti-
lion an old clock with slowly-sringing
pendulum, which excited his attention.
Next time he visited tire house lie had
a pencil and paper with him, and made
srough sketch Of theclock. BY earnest
study and investigation he succeeded
in making clock Of his own out OF
pieces OF wood, aud this wooden clock
kept the time fairly well. Then began
his experiments with autOmata. lie
made a wooden chapel, with moving
figures Of priests. lie invented by
drauic machine for the City OF Lyons.
and later, in the same place, perfected
q machine for .ilk-wcaving that
caused the rorhing-peOple to rise
against him in arms. His first
great achievement in automata was
a fute-player, which vss one Of the
wonders Of Lis time. He had
been i'll and made it during bis cOnys-
lCscerce. The several parts OF 1t were
made by different worlimen to prevent
its discovery. Only faithful servant
uided him in his secret. According to
D'Alemle1t, the remarkable figure
stood on o pedestal, in which portion
Of the mechanism was concealed, and
the player not only blew into the in
stiument, but with his lips increased
or diminished the sound, perform
ing the 1egato and staccato passages
with perfection, and lingering with
complete accuracy. 1t was exhibited
in Paris in 1888, and made great SEN
sation. Vaucanson next made flag
oolet player, and later a mechanical
duck, which waddlcd, SWAN, dived,
and quacked, and, like De Genness
peacock, picking up AID swallowing
It's food. lie was engaged on an end
less chain when he died. He willed
all automata 10 the King.
Maetzel, the inventor of the metro
nome and of several musical sutomata,
opened al exhibition in Vienna in 1869,
with life-size sutomatOn trumpeter as
the chief attraction. When the au-.
dicnce entered all they saw was a tent
Atter time the curtains parted and
Maetzel appeared, leading forward
tmmpeter in the full regimsntals Of
al Austrian dragoon. by pressing the
left epaulet Of the figure he made it
play cavalry calls and march and an
allegro by Weigi, accompanied bya
full band of living musicians. Nor was
this all. The figure retired and reap
poared as trumpeter Of the French
Guard. Maotzel wound it up on the
LETT hip, pressed once more on the left
epaulet, and it played the French cay
airy calls, a French cavalry march by
/ ussek, and one OF Pleyel's a'legros,
the full band again accompanying.
Knauss exhibited at Vienna all au-
tomaton that wrote, and the Drozes,
father and son, constructed several me-
figures that both wrote and
played musical instruments. A panto-
mime in five acts was performed by
troupe of puppet, in Paris in 1929, and
Blenfait, in 1746, got up representa-
ton of 1.-The Bombardment of Ant
werp" by sutomata. Another piece
performed by Blenfait's automats,
which he called comediens practiciens,
was 1.-The Grand Assault OF Berg op
Zoom."
Death of Sir John Moore.